Brits still unconvinced by broadband

Parts of the UK don't care for high-speed internet

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Ofcom has made variety of claims ahead of a new report into broadband use. It believes that 22 per cent of the UK's population are unconvinced about high-speed internet access.

Ofcom's CEO Ed Richards made the remarks in a speech at the London School Of Economics and claimed that despite the government's massive push to get everybody online, some either don't want it or simply can't afford it.

Not yet persuaded

"Though people are bombarded by messages about the range of benefits of being online – whether buying cheap insurance or catching up on last week's soaps – there seems to be millions of people who are not yet persuaded," he said.

Richards did some number-crunching and told the audience that 40 per cent of the country is still without high-speed internet access.

Over half of this number (55 per cent) do not want broadband at all, claims Richards, with 15 per cent not having enough money to subscribe to broadband.

He continued: "We need to tackle this challenge as much as tackle the challenge of low-income households who can't afford access."

Back in January Lord Carter outlined his interim Digital Britain report, in which he announced there should be broadband for all in the UK, with a minimum speed of 2Mb/s.